Thursday, May 11, 2017

The history of the bicycle is long and zany, as this amazing video shows:

Indeed, it's been a winding and treacherous road from those completely zany and borderline useless old dandy horses to the optimal balance of zaniness and practicality that characterizes (most of) the bicycles we ride today.

I think most sensible people would agree that, when it comes to personal vehicles in cities, bicycles have a lot more long-term viability than cars. However, saying they're "disruptive" seems a little strange. After all, bicycles "disrupted" the world well over a hundred years ago when they compelled municipalities to pave the roads. Efficient and adaptable, bicycles were here before the cars took over, and they'll still be here when the idea of car ownership is obsolete. Given this, as cyclists we're not so much "disruptors" as we are little furry rodents, scampering about resourcefully and flourishing regardless of whatever giant lumbering creature is squandering its temporary dominance at the time.

But while bikes and the riding of them have been around for a long time, bike share is pretty new, and I do think it's pretty fair to say that's "disruptive." (That is if you're the kind of person who insists on using that term.) And in addition to helping us get around, Smartypants thinks bike share bikes will also serve as little data collection probes:

Bikeshare bikes of the future, according to Dediu, will be outfitted with cameras and sensors, collecting valuable data for cities. When a cyclist rides over a pothole, it can be automatically reported to a city. Cameras on the bicycle will provide real-time data, such as pedestrian traffic and pollution. Google Street View will look like an antique compared to near real-time imagery collected from bikeshare cameras. The bikes will need to be carefully constructed so that the cameras and sensors aren't easily broken during use.

Well it's certainly an interesting thought. I could certainly get behind the idea of bikeshare bikes that capture bike lane blocking, reckless driving, and other bad driver behavior. The downside of course would be if the camera also ratted you out for rolling a red light or something, but maybe that won't be a problem with the Bicycle Traffic Lights of the Future:

Sadly it's unlikely we'll ever see any of this stuff happen here in Canada's saddlebag since it goes against our policy of punishing cyclists for not driving cars.

But try as they might to keep cyclists down they can't argue with physics. For example, did you know that bikes are portable but cars aren't?

Bikes' flexible nature will aid their popularity. You can park a bicycle in your home or your office. A bike can be carried on a bus, car or train. A car doesn't offer this versatility. A similar case of disruption played out with cameras, as the always-in-your-pocket nature of smartphones helped them leave traditional cameras in the dust.

Yep, that's right, you read it here first: you can't carry a Hyundai onto a train.

Anyway, besides bike share, Smartypants says the other "disruptor" will be ebikes, which makes sense:

While the speed edge seen in New York today doesn't hold up in every city, it will likely change as electric bicycles emerge. Electric bikes -- whose motors generally top out at 20 mph -- will attract customers because they don't have to worry about breaking a sweat, struggling to climb a hill or keeping up with traffic."When you get on an electric bike, what we witnessed is a lot of those anxieties are calmed," said Elliott McFadden, executive director of the Austin B-Cycle, the city's bikeshare program. It recently surveyed citizens' interest in electric bikes.

And Smartypants's vision of the future doesn't stop there, because after ebikes the next phase of disruption will be bikes with roofs:

As Dediu sees it, first the disruptive technology arrives, then the suitable environment follows. Early roads weren't smooth enough for the first cars. Early cellular networks couldn't handle smartphone data. But with time, the world adapted to fit the promising technology. Bike lanes are already growing worldwide.And then there's weather. Riding in the rain or snow is unpleasant. Dediu notes that the first cars and planes were open air vehicles. But they morphed into cocoons. Dediu expects bikes will follow a similar evolution.

Plenty of aero-style bikes feel fast once you’re over the 20mph hump, but the neat trick with the NK1K is that it feels lightning quick from a standing start. The solidity through the massive bottom bracket shell and taut front end make for a truly exciting bike under acceleration.

Dediu is right. Riding in the rain is unpleasant. If only someone would invent something that is convenient and waterproof that I could put on to protect myself from the rain. Perhaps we could call it a "rain jacket."

I wonder... if I add a crankset to my electric car to recharge the battery, does that make it a quad bike? Man, I'm sure my idea will take off. Imagine if everyone in the family could pedal! It's exactly what Volkswagen needs to get over dieselgate - and beat extend the range of electric cars!

Those were some seriously good dirt roads way back then in France or the Netherlands or wherever the heck that old-timey film was taken.

Who made the law that requires every black and white old timey silent movie to be paired with that danged piano music? Does any one else have the same negative reaction that I have to that stuff? Ugg. It drives me mad, mad I tell you!

Well, I don't want one and I certainly don't need one, but if someone offered me a test ride in that little shoe-shaped-recumbent-bicycle-car thing, I wouldn't turn them down. Especially if there was some flat, icy pavement to practice doing donuts on. That looks like a hoot.

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About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!